IFT NEWS
IFT Leadership Election deadline approaching
There is still time to vote in the IFT Leadership Election. The online election, which is taking place on a secure Web site, will end on June 1, 2005. The Web site can be accessed from any Internet-connected computer via a link at www.ift.org. Please have your login information ready. Eligible voters should have received their personal login and instructions via e-mail on May 1. If you do not know your login information, or are experiencing problems voting, please contact Dan Iannucci at 312-782-8424 or [email protected].
See page 72 in the April 2005 Food Technology or visit www.ift.org/election for directions on how to vote in the online election.
ADA approves IFT Meeting/Expo for continuing education credits
The American Dietetic Association’s Commission on Dietetic Registration for Registered Dietitians and Dietetic Technicians Registered has approved the IFT Annual Meeting + FOOD EXPO® for continuing education hours. The following activities are approved for the number of hours listed: major sessions (35), exhibit hours (6), poster hours (15), and CPE level (2). For more information, contact Teri Gargano at 312-782-8424 or [email protected]. To register for the Annual Meeting + FOOD EXPO, visit www.am-fe.ift.org.
IFT offers 10 pre-Annual Meeting continuing education programs
IFT’s Continuing Education Committee has eight two-day and two one-day programs planned for this year’s pre-Annual Meeting program, July 15–16, in New Orleans, La.
Register online at www.am-fe.ift.org/cms/?pid=1000046 prior to June 17 to receive the early-bird discount. For more information, see the ad on page 75 of this issue or contact IFT’s Professional Development Dept. at 525 W. Van Buren St., Ste. 1000, Chicago, IL 60607 (phone 312-782-8424). Registration fees for the IFT Annual Meeting + Food Expo are separate.
IFT Expert Report released in March
IFT’s Expert Panel Report, Functional Foods: Opportunities & Challenges, was presented in March at a press briefing at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. The report focuses on the potential for functional foods; procedures for establishing safety and efficacy; impediments to the development of functional foods, including limitations in the current regulatory framework; advances in new sciences as they relate to functional foods; research needs; and policy recommendations. For the purposes of this report, the phrase "functional foods" is defined as foods and food components that provide a health benefit beyond basic nutrition (for the intended population).
The complete report is available at www.ift.org/ExpertReport; a summary appeared in the December 2004 issue of Food Technology (pp. 35–40).
JFS online archive goes back to 1992
The Journal of Food Science online now has an archive that goes back to 1992. IFT member subscribers and non-member subscribers have access to the full text of all posted issues of the journal; non-subscribers can search or browse titles and abstracts of all posted issues, then purchase downloadable full-text versions in PDF format. Visit http://bookstore.myift.org/store/iftstore/ for more information.
EDUCATION NEWS
Opportunity for Fulbright Scholar Grant in food science
The Fulbright Commission in Ireland is offering a Fulbright Scholar Grant for U.S. faculty and professionals in the discipline of food science during the 2006–07 academic year. This is the first time that an award in this field has been offered in Ireland.
The recipient will spend 10 months, beginning September 2006, at the Dublin Institute of Technology conducting research seminars at the undergraduate and graduate level in areas of food safety management, environmental health risk management, environmental health, food/pharmaceutical technology, and food processing/pharmaceutical manufacturing. In addition, the recipient will initiate new developments in the department, write grants, and prepare papers.
Candidates should have a specialization in food biotechnology or environmental health and publication record or professional history in the desired area. Postdoctoral professional experience is preferred. A stipend of 35,000 euro is included for the full academic year. Awards for shorter periods may be considered.
The application deadline is August 1, 2005. For more information about the grant, contact Maria Bettua at 202-686-6245 or [email protected] or Stephen Money at 202-686-6232 or [email protected]; reference "Food Science Award #6313." For information about the host institution, visit www.dit.ie.
Birt wins ISU faculty award
Diane Birt, Distinguished Professor of Food Science and Human Nutrition and Director of the Center for Research on Dietary Supplements at Iowa State University, recently received the university’s Faculty Award for Diversity Enhancement.
As Chair of the Dept. of Food Science and Human Nutrition from 1997 to 2004 and Director of the Center for Designing Foods to Improve Nutrition from 1997 to 2002, Birt helped to increase diversity at all levels in the department by promoting diversity in recruitment, training, retention, and outreach activities. She is a Professional Member of IFT.
LETTERS
Three low-linolenic soybean oils available
Donald Pszczola’s Ingredients article, "From Soup to Soynuts: The Broadening Uses of Soy" (February, p. 44) was a great article. As a manager of a number of soybean projects at Monsanto, I read it with great interest and really appreciate his efforts in promoting soybean food uses very much.
I want to clarify a small detail on p. 48 regarding our new soybean product Vistive™, which was described as "a 1% low linolenic variety developed by Monsanto and Iowa State University." The next sentence mentions Pioneer’s variety co-developed by Bunge and DuPont. In fact, there are three products on the market, as Iowa State and Monsanto’s products are distinct and were developed completely independently.
All three products have reduced levels of unstable linolenic acid, but only ISU’s varieties have levels approaching 1%, while both Monsanto’s and Pioneer’s products have levels of linolenic acid under 3%. While Pioneer has partnered with Bunge to deliver Nutrium™ Low Lin oil to the market, Monsanto has partnered with Ag Processing Inc. (AGP) and Cargill to bring the benefits of Vistive low-linolenic oil to consumers.
More information on ISU’s product is available at www.notrans.iastate.edu and on Monsanto’s product at www.monsanto.com/monsanto/layout/media/04/09-01-04.asp.
—Tim Ulmasov, Oilseeds Project Manager, Monsanto, St. Louis, Mo.
Another ingredient for weight control
In her Nutraceuticals & Functional Foods article, "Weighing in on Weight Control" (March, p. 53), Linda Milo Ohr discussed ingredients that may help control or lose weight, including several dietary fibers, such as oat beta-glucan, inulin, and oligofructose. I want to point out that another dietary fiber worthy of mention in this regard is Litesse® polydextrose, which has proven its efficacy as a prebiotic and meets the AACC definition of dietary fiber and the proposed National Academy of Sciences definition of functional fiber. Seventeen published studies—human, in-vitro, and animal—have demonstrated the fiber properties of Litesse polydextrose, and many food products in the marketplace are using it for its fiber benefits.
—Donna Brooks, Product Manager–Sweeteners, Danisco USA, Inc., Ardsley, N.Y.
SECTION & DIVISION NEWS
Selke wins Jonathon Baldwin Turner Scholarship
Leslie Anne Selke, a freshman at the University of Illinois, has won the Jonathon Baldwin Turner Scholarship in the area of food science and human nutrition.
The Jonathon Baldwin Turner Scholarship Program, which is funded entirely by private donations, is awarded in various academic disciplines. The IFT Chicago Section provides $4,000 to a freshman who majors in food science or human nutrition at the university and meets the minimum academic and leadership criteria. The scholarship is awarded in $1,000 increments for the four years of the student’s academic career.
Jonathon Baldwin Turner was a pioneer of agricultural education in Illinois and the United States and one of the founders of the nationwide system of educational institutions known as the Land Grant University system.
by KAREN BANASIAK
Assistant Editor
[email protected]